The Oklahoma Sooners have taken on the Brigham Young Cougars twice in the history of the program.
They are 0-2 in those games. The most recent loss came in the infamous Sam Bradford injury game in 2009, which ended any national championship aspirations that season.
This time around, they will play in Provo, Utah. The November matchup could provide an interesting weather element for the Sooners to have to manage.
BYU is an interesting team. Their top 22 can compete with just about anyone in the Big 12. Depth, however, is the concern.
They added 19 guys this offseason from their recruiting class and the transfer portal, which should factor into their two-deep.
The Cougars hope to have better depth than they did a year ago. BYU returns 63% of its production from 2022. That ranks 70th in the nation according to ESPN (ESPN+).
Offensively, led by the now-departed Jaren Hall, BYU was 36th in the country. Hall threw for 3,171 yards, 31 touchdowns, and only six interceptions.
To replace Hall, Sitake brought in former USC and Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis. Slovis started 11 games for the Pittsburgh Panthers last season, throwing for 2,397 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Cougars also lose their top three running backs from a year ago. To mitigate the loss of leading rusher Christopher Brooks, BYU added transfers Aidan Robbins and Deion Smith.
Robbins ran for more than 1,000 yards last season for the UNLV Rebels. Smith ran for more than 300 yards for the Colorado Buffaloes.
They lost Puka Nacua, their top wide receiver from a year ago, but return a lot of production from 2022 and added depth this offseason.
Defensively the Cougars ranked 97th in points per game last season. They have to improve on that side of the ball if they want to compete in year one in the Big 12.
Five of their top six leaders in tackles return. They also had five players record four tackles for loss or more, and three of them return for this season. Ben Bywater led the way in 2022 with 98 total tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, and three interceptions.
Like the Oklahoma Sooners, the Cougars struggled to find a consistent pass rush last season. They bring back a lot of experience, but not a ton of production. John Nelson led BYU in sacks in 2022 with just three.
Boise State Broncos transfer Isaiah Bagnah hopes to help with that. He had seven tackles for loss and six sacks in the 2021 season before he was limited to just six games in 2022.
They have to figure out how to generate pressure after finishing 130th in sacks last year out of 131 teams. They also finished 129th in tackles for loss and 98th against the run.
But they have a great coach in Kalani Sitake who hopes to see vast improvement this year.
This is a tricky game because in late November in Provo, the temperature averages 52. The weather could play a factor. The crowd will provide a raucous environment, hosting arguably the biggest game in their program’s history. This has the feel of a “blue-out,” with the team rocking their all-blues and those in attendance matching.
This is a team with not a lot of depth, so do they wear out by the time they play OU? The key for this game is to get up on them early. If they hang around, BYU will beat you.
Until OU shows me they can do that, I’m not betting on it.
Score Prediction: 34-27 BYU
Predicted Record: 9-2
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